Protesters demand Fannie Mae meeting

Nearly 100 activists from a Boston-based housing advocacy group protested Wednesday in front of Fannie Mae’s headquarters in the 3900 block of Wisconsin Avenue Northwest.

The protesters from the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America sat on the steps of the expansive brick headquarters. They demanded that the government-controlled company modify loans to lower interest rates.

The group held signs reading, “Restructure our loans now,” “Fannie Mae destroys lives” and “Foreclose on Fannie Mae,” and demanded a meeting with the company’s chief executive officer, Herbert M .Allison Jr.

Mr. Allison was hired seven weeks ago after the government bailed out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The companies collectively own or guarantee about $5 trillion of the country’s outstanding mortgages — nearly half of the home loans the United States.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) created to ensure liquidity in the mortgage markets, though they do not make loans themselves. The two companies made money by purchasing mortgage loans in the secondary market from the banks that initiated the loans for a guarantee fee.

As banks lowered credit limits to provide loans to lower-income, or subprime borrowers, the GSE’s guaranteed more and more subprime loans and took a major hit as default and foreclosures increased in recent years, requiring the government to step in and help.